Tell Us Once is a service offered by most local authorities on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Tell Us Once allows you to inform central and local government departments of your loved ones death, all in one place, rather than having to write, telephone or even attend each service provider separately.
Once the death of your loved one has been registered, and with your permission, the Registrar can then help you to inform the relevant departments and local council authorities of their death by completing a simple and secure form.
In addition to the details provided when registering the death, the following information will also be required;
- National Insurance number
- Driving licence/number
- Passport/passport number along with their town & country of birth
- Details of any benefits or entitlements they received, eg State Pension
- Details of any local council services they received, eg Blue Badge, Library Service
The following departments will then be notified on your behalf;
- HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – to deal with tax & benefits cancellation
- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) – to deal with benefits cancellation
- The Identity & Passport Service – passport cancellation
- The Local Council/Authority – to cancel housing benefit, council tax benefit, a Blue Badge, inform council housing services and removal of the person from the electoral register
- Ministry of Defence (MOD) – for service personnel including the veterans agency
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to cancel driving licence if applicable (
You will still need to send the DVLA any vehicle registration certificates such as the V5C)
In addition the registrar may also ask for the contact details of the following;
- Their next of kin
- A surviving husband wife or civil partner
- The person dealing with the estate (property, belongings and money), known as the ‘executor’
- Anyone who is receiving child benefit on behalf of the person that has died
If you should provide information about any of the persons listed directly above and you are not the next of kin, you must have received their permission to do so.
- Click here to visit the tell us once service for Cornwall
- Click here to visit the tell us once service for Devon